The importance of the acquisition and retention of key strategic bases around the globe, 1763-1914 Flashcards
When did Britain originally capture Gibraltar and Minorca?
Gibraltar= 1704 and Minorca= 1708
When did Spain first try to recapture Gibraltar?
1727
When was Admiral Byng executed for not deciding not to attack a French fleet at Minorca?
1757
When was the Treaty of Aranjuez that meant the French agreed to help Spanish forces recapture Gibraltar and Minorca?
1779
How many ships did Britain have in 1779 and 1781?
1779=90 and 1781=94
How many ships did the French and Spanish have in 1779 and 1781?
1779= 121 ships and 1781=137 ships (with Dutch support as well)
When was Gibraltar blockaded?
1779
When did French-Spanish fleet land to besiege Minorca?
1781
When did the British troops in Minorca led by General Murray surrender to the French-Spanish invasion?
February 1782
When was there a major assault on Gibraltar that ultimately failed?
September 1782
Which spice did Ceylon produce much of until the end of the 18th century?
Cinnamon
How much did the capture of Ceylon immediately yield for the British?
£300,000
When was the Treaty of Amiens that allowed Ceylon to be retained by the British?
1802
When was the rebellion in Kandy (Ceylon) suppressed by Governor Brownrigg?
1817-1818
Who arrived in Cape Town in 1795 demanding the colony hand itself over to the British for ‘safekeeping’?
Sir George Elphinstone
When was the treaty with the Dutch that agreed to the British control of Cape Town?
1814
When did Napoleon capture Malta?
1798
When did Nelson blockade Valetta in response to the French invasion of Malta?
1799 and the French surrendered in 1800
Britain left Malta in the temporary peace of 1802 but returned in which year?
1803
When was the acquisition of the Falkland Islands after the surrender of the United Provinces’ leader Luis Vernet?
1833
By 1800, how many people lived in Aden?
1,000
When were the French defeated in Egypt after initial interest in Aden in 1798?
1801
What was the name of the local ruler in Egypt during the 1830s that was of concern to the British?
Mehmet Ali Pasha
When did the East India Company agree to pay for two ships to secure the steaming between Bombay and the Suez Canal?
1837
Which island in 1835 did the East India Company take before going to Aden?
The Island of Socotra
When did Commander Stafford Haines of the British Navy arrive in Aden?
1837
How many frigates and men were sent to Aden without the prior approval of the British Government (a case of fat accompli)?
2 Frigates and 700 men
When was Commander Stafford Haines tried for fraud and embezzlement after running a deficit of £28,000 in Aden?
1854
When were the Russian conquests of Tashkent, Samarkand and Bukhara?
Tashkent= 1865; Samarkand= 1868 and Bukhara=1868
When was the Washington Treaty that agreed lasting peace between the USA and the British?
1871
When was Queen Victoria declared ‘Empress of India’?
1876
When did the Russo-Turkish War break out?
1877
How much did Disraeli get the parliament to approve for in terms of preparing for war after the Russian army defeated the Ottoman army?
£6 million
When did the Ottoman empire surrender to the Russian therefore ceding most of the Balkans to Russia?
1878
When was the acquisition of Cyprus to monitor the position of Russia in the area?
1878 for £93,000 annually
When was the annexation of Transvaal?
1877
When was the British invasion of Afghanistan?
1878
When was the British conquest of Zetland?
1879
When was Gladstone criticised for the under-funding of the Navy?
1884
When had spending on the Royal Navy returned to a high level after Gladstone was criticised?
1889
